It’s that time of year again. I’m not talking about the holidays. I’m talking about the end of the first half of the college hockey season, when my editors generously let me write a thousand or so words where I get to pretend like I’m Nostradamus. And, if you’ve been following the CCHA at all … Read more
The first season of the CCHA’s return to competition was nearly perfect. We’ll stress the word “nearly” there. Minnesota State came within a period of winning its first-ever national title, leading Denver 1-0 going into the third period of the NCAA championship game before ultimately losing 5-1. That, of course, wasn’t the way the Mavericks … Read more
Minnesota State has been selected by the CCHA head coaches to win the MacNaughton Cup, which is awarded to the regular-season champion, in the 2022-23 preseason coaches poll. The defending champions and Frozen Four finalists also won the 2022 Mason Cup as the league’s tournament winners. The Mavericks collected six first-place votes and totaled 69 … Read more
Jerry York, the winningest coach in NCAA hockey history, five-time NCAA champion, National Hockey League and U.S. Hockey hall of famer, and beloved Boston College ambassador and university citizen, has announced his retirement after 50 years of Division I coaching, including 28 years as coach of the Eagles. The 76-year-old York met with his coaches … Read more
The CCHA has announced its two all-CCHA teams for the 2021-22 season. 2021-22 All-CCHA First Team F – Nathan Smith, Minnesota State – 41 points F – Brian Halonen, Michigan Tech – (35) F – Julian Napravnik, Minnesota State (26) D – Jake Livingstone, Minnesota State (22) D – Elias Rosén, Bemidji State (18) G … Read more
The CCHA announced Monday its 2021-22 all-rookie team. 2021-22 CCHA All-Rookie Team F – Bradley Marek, Ferris State – 16 points F – Austen Swankler, Bowling Green – (13) F – Josh Nixon, Lake Superior State – (12) D – Eric Parker, Bowling Green – (12) D – Bennett Zmolek, Minnesota State – (9) G … Read more
The Mason Cup is back. After a nine-year absence, the CCHA will award the championship trophy once again to the winner of its conference tournament, which begins with quarterfinal action this week. The trophy, named after famed Bowling Green, Lake Superior State and Michigan State coaching legend Ron Mason, was created in 2001. “We were … Read more
It’s already February, which I understand seems strange to everyone (if there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that time is essentially meaningless). But it’s true. It’s February, which means there’s just one month of CCHA regular season left until the playoffs. And because it’s almost the postseason, it’s about time that we start … Read more
The CCHA announced Tuesday a one-game suspension for Bowling Green senior forward Evan Dougherty. The suspension is a result of Dougherty’s five-minute major and game misconduct penalty for contact to the head, which occurred at 10:42 of the second period in Bowling Green’s game at Ferris State on Jan. 29, 2022. After further league review, … Read more
Ah, the New Year. A time to make resolutions that you may or may not keep. For most of us, these resolutions are merely suggestions at self-betterment that might not even have any outwardly tangible signs of change. Luckily for a college hockey coach who decides to make some resolutions for their team, there should … Read more
The CCHA announced Monday that Bowling Green sophomore forward Chrystopher Collin has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 19:31 of the third period on Friday, Dec. 17 against Ohio State. The on-ice call was a five-minute major and game disqualification for fighting. The suspension will be served during the Falcons’ next … Read more
Before the season started, outsiders weren’t quite sure what to make of Bowling Green. After all, the Falcons had lost 11 players to either graduation or the transfer portal. It would have understandably been hard to predict how losing so many key contributors would affect a program that has won 20-plus games for seven straight … Read more
The CCHA announced Sunday a one-game suspension for Bowling Green sophomore forward Chrystopher Collin. The suspension stems from an incident at 15:06 of the third period on Saturday, Nov. 20 against Lake Superior State where Collin was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct penalties for contact to the head. After further league review, the … Read more
A quick look up and down Bemidji State’s roster would reveal a lot of familiar names: Ethan Somoza. Owen Sillinger. Alex Ierullo. Tyler Kirkup. All have been contributing to the BSU program consistently since their freshmen seasons, and their presence in the lineup this year — a few back for an extra year of eligibility … Read more
Losing isn’t usually the norm for a Bob Daniels-coached team. The Ferris State head coach has been behind the bench for 29 seasons. He’s guided his Bulldogs teams to three conference titles, four NCAA tournament appearances and one Frozen Four in that time frame. The usual expectation for the Bulldogs is to be competitive at … Read more
When members of the media were looking at the teams in the newly-reconstituted CCHA this fall as we started to do our preseason picks and previews, one team made it easiest on everybody. And maybe it wasn’t the team you think. Have your guesses in? It might shock you to know that it was Michigan … Read more
It might have been reasonable to assume at the start of the 2021-22 season that Lake Superior State might have some issues scoring goals this year. After all, the Lakers lost four of their top five scorers (Ashton Calder, Pete Veillette, Hampus Eriksson and Will Reidell) either to graduation or the NCAA transfer portal (in … Read more
After some time away, there’s one thing Rico Blasi noticed about the familiar rinks of the CCHA. “The smell is still the same,” the first-year St. Thomas coach joked in a phone interview Tuesday, reflecting on his team’s recent road trips to Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State. Blasi, who played at Miami in the … Read more
For the casual fan watching on a Friday or Saturday, chances are high that the inaugural season of the new CCHA won’t look much different than the final season of the WCHA. Seven of the eight teams were together in the WCHA, so the matchups, coaches and arenas are largely the same. And the league’s … Read more
Bowling Green has received a commitment from Austen Swankler, a forward who last played major junior hockey for the OHL’s Erie Otters during the 2019-20 season. He did not play during the 2020-21 season. According to a CCHA news release, Swankler and his family applied directly to the NCAA for eligibility prior to expressing interest … Read more